Archive for the ‘New York’ Category

Have you ever spent a Christmas season in New York City?No?Then my suggestion to you, if you love a good old-fashioned Christmas complete with all the fixins’, is to spend a few days in the Big Apple when the spirit of the Christmas season is at its apex.There is nothing else that compares.I promise.

Harry Smith, from the CBS Early Show, referred to this zoo as a “zoolet.” And he’s right. New York’s Central Park zoo is a very tiny animal sanctuary, but it does prove the old adage that “Good things come in small packages.”

The Central Park zoo is the perfect destination if your time and your cash are a little short. The admission price is tiny, and it’ll take only a couple of hours to look around, but the animals are very exotic, and the little haven has a very inviting ambience.

With millions of people, all eager to catch a glimpse of some of the world’s best Fourth of July fireworks, where does a visitor – or for that matter – a local New Yorker go to catch the show?

It’ll be my first visit to New York during the 4th of July, and I wanted to do this visit up right. I have already done Christmas and St. Patrick’s Day – so I am expecting great things from New York City on Independence Day.

But I am glad I did the research first. Here’s what I discovered about how best to enjoy the Fourth of July in New York City.

Nothing proclaims, “This person is an adventurer” like a Tilley hat. It’s true; look at a group of tourists – the ones in the khaki Tilley hats don’t look so touristy – they look more serious, more experienced, more like seasoned travelers.

Yes, it’s all good when you wear a Tilley hat unless, of course, you (like my husband and world travel companion) refuse to wear the hat’s chin strap. That decision, or lack thereof, can get you into a lot of trouble.

It’s that time again; I’ve resisted long enough.I must return to one of my favorite spots in the world: New York City.Besides the fact I am addicted to NYC, I made a personal promise to myself that I would visit the Big Apple on every major holiday.I’ve already done Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and St. Patrick’s Day.So, now it’s time for one of the biggest hooplas of all:Independence Day!

Airfares from Canada, especially if we fly on our own major holiday, Canada Day, are cheap, so now I must find a NYC hotel.My husband and I took a liking to the Helmsley Park Lane (we’ve stayed there 3 times before), so I pulled up the hotel’s website, input our travel dates, and voila.Yikes!So much for the high life.